Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

The 10 best vanilla cigars I’ve tried and tested in 2024

By
Vanilla sticks and cigars on stylish background.
Jocelyn-Morales | Edited by Briley Kenney / Unsplash

Cigars fall into two major categories: naturally flavored and infused. Like many that come from Acid, infused cigars are soaked in essential oils, sugars, botanicals, or beverages like cognac to make them fruitier, sweeter, and wholly unique. Natural cigars, on the other hand, get their flavors from the blend of tobacco leaves they’re made from. Some cigar enthusiasts like both kinds, while some like one or the other. It’s mainly up to your preferences and tastes. But if you’re looking for a much broader range of flavors, infused cigars are the way to go. Some other popular brands that make infused cigars are Dutch Master, Rocky Patel, Drew Estate, and Baccarat. Here are a few of the best vanilla cigars I’ve tried and tested in 2024.

Acid Blondie Blue Natural

Acid Blondie Blue cigar bundle best small cigars
Drew Estate Acid
  • Strength: Mild to Medium
  • Infused: Yes

I’ve recommended the Acid Blondie Blue before, and I stand by that. It’s a great mild to medium-bodied smoke infused with various flavors, including vanilla. Yes, you’ll get a few more flavors from the experience, but if you like sweet, creamy vanilla notes, you’ll love this one.

Avanti Vanilla

Avanti Vanilla cigar single out of the box from best vanilla cigars.
Avanti
  • Strength: Mellow
  • Infused: Yes

Made of Kentucky tobacco, the Avanti Vanilla is a small, quick cigar brimming with vanilla flavors. You’ll also get a little spice, but don’t worry; it’s still a mellow, relaxing smoke. When I tried these, I paired them with some coffee in the late morning.

Related

CAO Bella Vanilla

CAO Bella Vanilla cigars in the box from best vanilla cigars.
CAO
  • Strength: Mellow
  • Infused: Yes

CAO’s Bella Vanilla is wrapped in a gorgeous Cameroon leaf over Nicaraguan tobacco and infused with vanilla beans to give a short, sweet smoke rich in flavor. They also come in a cigarillo size, but when I tried the blend, I opted for the Robusto.

Azucar by Espinosa

Azucar by Espinosa single cigar from best Vanilla cigars.
Espinosa
  • Strength: Mellow
  • Infused: Yes

This vanilla-flavored cigar hails from the Dominican Republic and features a natural Dominican wrapper and tobacco. It’s sweet and creamy and pairs well with your choice of a sugary beverage. Fun fact: Azucar means “sugar” in Spanish.

Garcia y Vega Game Palma Vanilla

Garcia y Vega Game Palma Vanilla in packaging from best vanilla cigars.
Garcia y Vega
  • Strength: Mellow
  • Infused: Yes

Aromatic, flavored, and plentiful, since they come in boxes of 40, the Garcia y Vega Game cigars are excellent everyday smoke. The Palma Vanilla features — you guessed it — lots of vanilla, some sweetness, and some creamy goodness.

La Gloria Cubana Corojo de Oro

La Gloria Cubana Corojo de Oro in Toro size from best vanilla cigars.
La Gloria Cubana
  • Strength: Medium to Full
  • Infused: No

Okay, first things first. The La Gloria Cubana Corojo de Oro is a traditional cigar, so it’s not infused, but the blend works together to produce some incredible flavors. It has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with Brazilian Mata Fina, Dominican Piloto Cubano, and Nicaraguan Ometepe filler tobaccos. The primary flavor is caramel all the way through, with some dark flavors like coffee, nuttiness, and cedar. But the way the caramel and sweet notes roll off the tongue gives it a delightful, vanilla-like experience.

M by Macanudo Vanilla

M by Macanudo Vanilla / French Vanilla
Macanudo
  • Strength: Medium
  • Infused: Yes

This cigar has been discontinued, so it’s a tough find. That’s a shame because it’s chock full of vanilla, sweet, and creamy flavors. Since I’ve been able to try one, and they may still be available at select stores and locations, I’m including it on this list. I recommend grabbing more than one if you can get your hands on it. While it is unfortunate, cigars are often available in limited releases due to the natural agriculture behind them and the availability of grown tobacco strains. Sometimes, they don’t sell well; other times, continued production isn’t viable or sustainable. You can, however, try some of the other labels in the M by Macanudo line. They’re just as flavorful.

Sobremesa Brulee

Sobremesa Brulee delicious medium bodied cigars
Dunbarton Tobacco
  • Strength: Medium
  • Infused: No

While it’s not infused and instead a traditional cigar, the Sobremesa Brulee is pretty damn close thanks to light flavors like wood, caramel, and vanilla. It’s also nutty, creamy, and extra sweet. Even if your taste buds don’t pick up the vanilla, it’s still a phenomenal smoke.

Tatiana Classic Vanilla

Tatiana Classic Vanilla from best vanilla cigars.
Tatiana
  • Strength: Mild
  • Infused: Yes

Aged specifically in vanilla essence, this smooth, mild smoke never lets up on that flavor. You’ll taste it all through, along with lots of sweetness, sugar, and cream. Be careful; if you light one of these around some guests, they might beg you for one, too. They give off a lovely aroma.

If you like the Classic, you’ll also like the .

West Tampa Tobacco Co. White

West Tampa Tobacco Company White from best vanilla cigar.
West Tampa Tobacco Co.
  • Strength: Medium
  • Infused: No

Rich and creamy, this medium-bodied smoke from West Tampa Tobacco Company is a stunner. They’re handmade in Nicaragua and feature a Habano wrapper with an Ecuadorian Habano binder. The fillers are from Ometepe, Pueblo Nuevo, and Jalapa. You’ll get some leather, pepper, brown sugar, and plenty of vanilla cream. Since I live near Tampa, I cheated a little here — they may be harder to find out west if you’re not fond of shipped cigars.

If you like these, you should also try:

Get to know our expert

Best Connecticut cigars up close and personal
Briley Kenney / The Manual

Why should you listen to me? It’s a valid question. I smoke cigars all the time, and I have many recommendations and plenty of advice to share with others. But none of those things qualify me as an expert. Instead, it’s the years of experience, the time I’ve invested in the world of cigars, the excellent connections I’ve made with cigar makers and sellers, and the vast wealth of knowledge I’ve gained during that time. I know what goes into an excellent cigar, and I’ve certainly earned the right to recommend some to others, whether you’re a beginner and this is your first time smoking or have your own cabinet humidor stocked and maintained. Instead of waxing poetic, I’d rather let my recommendations speak for me.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Briley Kenney
Briley Kenney
Staff Writer

Briley has been writing about consumer electronics, technology, and many lifestyle topics for nearly two decades. When he's not writing about deals for Digital Trends or The Manual, he's writing how-to content and guides about cigars and more for online publications. He's also a ghostwriter for various publications. In his downtime, he's either spending time with his family, playing games, or enjoying a good ol' stogie.

Send all editorial inquiries HERE.

The 8 best Arturo Fuente cigars I’ve tried and tested in 2024
best arturo fuente cigars in ybor city west tampa from wilson and girgenti engineering

Founded by 24-year-old Arturo Fuente Senior in 1912, Arturo Fuente is a West Tampa-born cigar company known for its sumptuously-flavored and luxurious cigars. In 1924, about 12 years after its founding, a fire destroyed the Fuente factory, forcing the brand into a production freeze for over two decades — 22 long years. Then, in 1946, after the company's ownership was passed to Carlos Fuente, Arturo's youngest son, limited production began again. From there, and spurred by the 1960 U.S. embargo on Cuban goods, the brand eventually grew into what we know today and now delivers some of the finest cigars on the market. In fact, it is one of the most popular and most recognizable brands out there, and for good reason. If you're interested in a more detailed history, the Arturo Fuente official timeline is a great place to start.

Arturo Fuente blends are robust and flavorful and offer quite the experience for cigar enthusiasts, which is why many of the brand's labels are rare or hard to come by -- hello, . But like many big cigar companies, Arturo Fuente offers a wide range of cigar blends and labels including the Hemingway line, Sun Grown, Opus X, Especiales, and, of course, a self-titled line. In the interest of finding the best Arturo Fuente cigars, I've tried and tested a bunch, and, by and large, I've come to share my experiences with you, dear reader.
The best Arturo Fuente cigars I've tried and tested in 2024
I actually live in the Tampa Bay area and have visited the old local Arturo Fuente factory in Ybor City a few times. It has since been restored and is now the company's headquarters. Mostly it's available to look on from the outside, but there are a few great bars and cigar shops in the area. That's also to say I'm quite familiar with the brand and have been a proponent and pseudo-solicitor of Fuente cigars for a while. Plus, it helps that Fuente smokes are plentiful where I live because some of them can be really challenging to find. You get the gist. Let's explore some of the best Arturo Fuente cigars I have been able to light up. Before we begin, you should know that many Arturo Fuente cigars are either limited releases, only available at certain times of the year or, sadly, discontinued.

Read more
The 8 best Davidoff cigars I’ve tried and tested in 2024
Davidoff Escurio and Aniversario cigars up close by Briley Kenney from The Manual

Davidoff cigars are first-rate, and you'll rarely, if ever, find a poorly constructed stick. There's a reason for that, and it's analogous to the brand's history. Its founder, Zino Davidoff, is renowned for prioritizing quality and craftsmanship. To understand his dedication, let's take a quick look back at history.
A brief history of Davidoff

A young Zino Davidoff became fascinated with creating his own cigars.  But unlike his family, namely his father, who had already been in the industry for years, Zino wanted to do things a little differently. He traveled the world, visiting South and Central America and, of course, Cuba, studying and working with cigars directly. Around the 1930s, he pursued an official license and began his legacy, borrowing everything he learned to craft his own cigars, including the growing conditions he observed in Cuba.

Read more
The 10 best mild cigars I’ve tried and tested in 2024
AVO Synchro cigar resting on top of filled whiskey glass.

While I do prefer stronger medium-bodied to full-bodied cigars, I'll be the first to admit that mild cigars can be just as good and just as flavorful. If you're a beginner to smoking cigars, or you just want something more mellow, with less heat and pepper, the mild category is the place to be. But if you just grab something randomly off the shelf in your local cigar lounge, chances are, you won't find some of the best sticks on your first try. I love sharing the art of cigars with others, including making sure they have a great experience. To do that, I've tested a bunch of mild cigars to find the most flavorful, and I'm sharing my experiences with you. Here are my favorite smokes from the bunch.
The best mild cigars I've tried and tested

Right off the bat, you may notice that some refer to mild cigars as "mellow" and may also use the phrases "mild to medium" or "mellow to medium." Believe it or not, these are varying classifications. While mellow and mild are often interchangeable, I have heard some cigar enthusiasts refer to "mellow" as more of a smooth, less-peppery smoke, sometimes even with lots of cream notes. In that case, mild would be slightly stronger, but not by much. The terms "mild to medium" and "mellow to medium" are used to place the cigar between those two categories. To describe it better, they're slightly stronger than mild or mellow but not quite as strong as a medium cigar. This could mean they have more intense flavors, more pepper, or a combination of stronger changes in the later thirds. If you're looking for a strictly mellow cigar, stick with the respective classification. For the list, I chose a range of options, but all of them are definitely mild, relaxing smokes.
AVO Classic

Read more